


Let Nothing You Dismay

by MauveCat



Series: A Year in the Life [3]
Category: Endless Summer (Visual Novel)
Genre: Christmas, Family Feels, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-02
Updated: 2020-09-04
Packaged: 2021-03-06 17:55:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,727
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26253013
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MauveCat/pseuds/MauveCat
Summary: Christmas with the Catalysts
Relationships: Craig Hsiao/Zahra Namazi, Diego Soto/Varyyn (Endless Summer), Estela Montoya/Main Character (Endless Summer), Grace Hall/Aleister Rourke, Sean Gayle/Michelle Nguyen
Series: A Year in the Life [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1885183
Comments: 4
Kudos: 4





	1. Chapter 1

**DECEMBER**

“I still can’t believe it was that easy to get into the country,” Mike said from the seat next to Aleister.

“You mean how we managed to evade any security checks?” Keeping his eyes on the road, Aleister grinned. “Owning a private airfield helps, of course. It’s also quite useful having a woman on the inside.”

“Literally.” IRIS’s voice came through the SUV’s speakers. “We try not to make a habit of it, but it’s not terribly difficult to accomplish. It’s simply a matter of slipping into the air traffic control and customs systems and making a few strategic changes. It’s possible to get Varyyn through regular airport security but we had several close calls the last time he and Diego flew into New Orleans – this was so much simpler, wasn’t it?”

“Simpler than triggering a dozen security alerts at the other end of the airport? Yeah, can’t argue with that. I’m kinda surprised that trick worked once, let alone twice. It was basically a high-tech version of pointing over someone’s shoulder and saying ‘Look, a zeppelin!’” Jake leaned forward from the last row of seats. “Normally I’m not a fan of the subtle approach but I’ve been thinking about it, and I think I’ve got another idea. You wanna talk about it later, IRIS?”

“Of course! I’m always interested in expanding my repertoire.”

Diego looked at Jake skeptically. “How worried should I be about this?”

“I am sure it will be fine, beloved,” Varyyn said absently. He kept his face turned to the window, his eyes locked in fascination on the passing buildings and people.

From the middle row, Taylor sheepishly said, “Will I get shouted down if I admit that I’m a little sorry we didn’t fly into a major airport? I was too panicked to pay much attention when we flew in and out of San Trobida and I’d kind of like to give it another shot.”

Jake shrugged. “If you want to take another plane out of England, you won’t be hurting my feelings, Princess. Me and Mike can fly the guys back to La Huerta and then pick you and Katniss up anywhere you want to get you back home. Ain’t that right, kid?”

Mike looked back at them. “No problem here, Grandpa. I wouldn’t mind logging a few extra miles myself.”

Taylor looked at her wife hopefully, and Estela nodded. “I don’t see why not, if it’ll make you happy. We can check out flights when we get to Aleister and Grace’s house and we’ll decide where we’re going next. You know, I’ve never been to Paris.”

“And we all know I haven’t.” ( _a quick flash of the Champs-Elysée in springtime, carefully sneaking away from her high school tour group and making her way to the Louvre_ ) “Let’s go to Paris, then. Do we know when the others are getting into London?”

Aleister looked at her in the rearview mirror. “Raj is already here, of course – he and Buddy flew in from Morocco yesterday. That dog probably has a quite impressive passport by now. Quinn, Craig and Zahra are flying in from Boston and they should be here this evening. They’re taking a cab from Gatwick to save me from heading down there as soon as I drop you off. Michelle and Sean will be here tomorrow before noon, but they’ll need to leave before sunrise on the day after Christmas because Sean has a game on New Year’s Day, and Michelle needs to get back to her hospital.”

“At least we’ll all be together for Christmas,” Taylor said. She looked out the window. Many of the buildings were decorated for the holiday, and passersby were carrying shopping bags and packages. Every time the SUV stopped, she thought she could hear Christmas music. Or was she imagining it? She knew she had no memories of her own, but she kept getting flickers of her friends’ experiences with the holiday – the food, the music, the happiness, the loneliness, the angry family arguments, the quiet joyful moments... all of those borrowed memories were a constant low buzz at the back of her head that she couldn’t quite bring into focus. She looked up when Aleister spoke again.

“If you don’t mind my playing tour guide for a moment –” Aleister pointed to the left. “You can’t see much of it past the buildings right now, but the Thames is right over there. We’ll be home in just a few minutes.”

“Really?” Taylor looked at the crowded street they were driving down. “From the way you described it, I thought you were in a much quieter area.”

Estela smiled at her. “That’s something that surprised me about London. You can be in the middle of a busy place like this. Then you turn a corner and go a few blocks, and it’s like you’re in a completely different city.”

“That’s because in a way, you are. London, in spite of being thought of as a single city, is actually a collection of –”

“ _Now_ you can stop acting like a tour guide, Malfoy.”

“Remind me to cancel his next vacation,” Aleister said to Mike.

“Only if I get his days off added to mine, boss.”

“Why not? That seems fair.”

“Now you’re conspiring against me?” Jake asked in fake outrage. “I think I’m gonna file a protest with my union representative.”

Estela looked at him over her shoulder. “Since that would be me, _cabrón_ , I’m rejecting your protest.”

“Typical. No respect for the working man.”

“I hate to interrupt this scintillating discourse on labor rights, but we’re here.” Aleister pressed a button on the steering wheel, and a wrought-iron gate set in a tall brick wall opened up. Driving the SUV along a short curving driveway, he came to a stop in front a three-story brick house. “All right, everyone out.”

“Wait a second, hon.” Reaching up, Diego tugged the fur-lined hood of Varyyn’s coat a little further over his face. “I don’t think anyone can see us from the street, but better safe than sorry.”

Smiling gently, Varyyn gave his husband a quick kiss before he opened the door. “Thank you, Diego.”

As she stepped out of the car, Taylor looked around in awe. She could still faintly hear the traffic from the street outside, but it was muffled and easy to ignore. She felt the tension from the long journey begin to fade away. “This really is like a different world.” She pointed at the thick greenery in front of the brick wall enclosing the property. “What kind of trees are those?”

“Juniper,” Aleister said as he helped unload luggage from the back of the SUV. “We had them trimmed back a little when we bought the property. I think twenty feet is more than enough for privacy’s sake, and it should help them grow in a little thicker. And there are sensors installed all along the wall so any drones that attempt to cross over will immediately malfunction. We’ll also be alerted if anyone attempts to climb the wall.”

“Very nice,” Estela said as she came to stand beside Taylor. “And Zahra said she had some thoughts on blocking unauthorized wi-fi signals – did she ever talk to you about that?” She slipped an arm around Taylor’s waist. There’d been no sign of Rex Lundgren after the Emperor (Diego insisted on calling him the Mirror Universe Rourke) failed in his attempt to invade their reality, but as much as the Catalysts wanted to believe he’d died trying to find a way off La Huerta, none of them were prepared to count him out.

IRIS’s drone floated over. “She did indeed. It’s an elegant little piece of code – I hope she approves of how I implemented her ideas. I think now more than ever, we need to err on the side of caution whenever possible. And since you’ve safely arrived at home, there’s a situation I’d like to look into. I’ll do my best to check in again at Reggie’s bedtime.”

“I’m sure he’s looking forward to that, Mother – ah!” Aleister’s face lit up as the front door opened up and Grace came bounding down the steps.

“You sure it’s okay if I stay here, Grandpa? It’s not like I can’t afford a hotel on the salary the bossman pays us.” Taylor almost turned around at Mike’s soft question, but Estela tightened the arm around her waist and shook her head slightly.

Just as quietly, Jake replied, “We’ve been over this, kid. If you weren’t welcome here, they wouldn’t have asked you over and over until you gave in. It’ll be fine.” Raising his voice, Jake called to Grace, “Hey, Brainiac! You decided yet where everyone is bunking down in this joint?”

“Oh, I’ll let you figure that out. Raj has his room already, but that still leaves seven up for grabs.” Grace left her husband to give first Jake, and then a startled Mike, warm hugs. She pointed at a low stone building, barely visible around the corner of the house. “We’re still working on the apartment above my studio. It’s functional, but not very cozy – I thought we’d hold off on that unless I decide someone needs a time out.”

“Either Zahra or Craig, then?” Estela asked as Grace wrapped her arms around her and Taylor.

“Or both, but I’ll deny I ever said that.” Grace put her cold hands on Taylor’s cheeks and beamed up at her. “You’re actually in England!” Before Taylor could do more than register the tension behind her bright words, Grace had already moved on to hug Diego and Varyyn. “I’m sorry it’s not going to snow while you’re here, Varyyn. But it’s definitely chilly enough for someone who forgot to put on a coat – and that would be me – so let’s all head inside.” She began herding the others toward the open door. “Hurry! My hands are freezing.” Slipping her arm through Taylor’s, she looked up and said, “I know I said everyone could choose where they sleep, but would you and Estela like one of the rooms on the top floor? You’ll be right across from Reggie – technically you’ll be sharing a bathroom with him but you’ll have it basically to yourselves,” she finished hopefully.

Estela looked at Taylor; at her confirming nod, she looked down at her sister-in-law. “That sounds wonderful, Grace – thank you. We’ll be thrilled with any chance for more time with our nephew.”

With a quick peek to make sure everyone was inside, Grace closed the front door. “Oh, I’m so glad to hear that! We started painting – well, hiring people to do it for us – on the top floor, so I’m afraid they’re the only rooms that are done yet. Most of the house is still beige, and we’re open to any decorating ideas all of you have.”

“Doodlejumps!” Raj came into the foyer, grinning widely. “It’s about time you – whoa, incoming!” He moved out of the way quickly as Reggie came careening around the corner. The little boy nearly overbalanced, but caught himself by grabbing hold of Raj’s leg. “Easy there, little dude.” Before Raj had finished his sentence, Reggie was off again, heading directly for his father.

“Man, look at him go! He’s improved even since the last video you sent us,” Diego said as he hung his and Varyyn’s coats on a rack by the front door.

Crouching down, Aleister scooped up his son. “He has, hasn’t he? And we caught him eyeing the staircase yesterday, so I’m afraid the baby gates will be a permanent fixture for the time being.”

“And he said his second word a few days ago,” Grace added proudly. She reached up and tickled Reggie’s cheek. “Do you want to show everyone how you can talk?” Reggie giggled at her and burped. “Well, _that’s_ not what I had in mind.”

“Kid’s a rebel already. I approve.” Slinging his bag over his shoulder, Jake nodded toward the large staircase occupying one side of the foyer. “The rooms are up there?”

Grace nodded. “There are still two free rooms on the top floor, on the north side, and four on what I can’t stop myself from calling the second floor. It’s been years but Aleister has to keep reminding me they call it the first floor here.” She pointed to the other side of the foyer. “And if you head toward the kitchen, there’s also another staircase on that side of the house.”

“My room’s the one with the dog in it,” Raj said helpfully. “But if any of you want to borrow her while you’re here, she’s mellow.”

“Well, if you’d all like to stake your claims, why don’t we meet up in the kitchen in… let’s say half an hour or so?” Aleister wrinkled his nose at Reggie. “That should give me enough time to deal with my son’s situation.”

“Oh, does he need a change? I hadn’t noticed,” Grace said blandly. “All right, everyone, spread out and find your rooms… Taylor, Estela, come on!” Gathering up her sisters-in-law, Grace steered them toward the stairs. “The gates are actually easy to use, just lift up the latch here and the center part swings out. We’re thinking of redoing the grand staircase here. It looks impressive but if we change the configuration a little, we think we can install a small elevator. Going up and down these stairs constantly has been a great cardio workout, but we won’t be young forever. I’ve been tinkering with a new hydraulic system – ooh, Jake, maybe we should save that room for Sean and Michelle? It’s got a huge bathroom and, well, we all know Michelle. Okay, girls, one more flight!” Grace kept up her breathless chatter until they were on the top floor. Grace led them to a door on the west side and opened it. “As promised, Reggie is right across from you, and Aleister and I are over there behind those double doors. There’s a small laundry room down the hall there, by the other two bedrooms. And I’ve got to show you our room – we have a _sauna_ in there! Feel free to use it whenever you like.”

Taylor looked around the room. The walls were painted a soft sage green. There were two deep armchairs, cream-colored with a pattern of dark green ferns, in front of a bay window, and the large bed was piled with pillows and a duvet in the same green as the chairs. “Grace, this is _gorgeous_!”

“Oh, I’m so glad you like it!” Grace seemed to sag in relief. She gave them a weak smile. “I know that you saw it right after we moved in, Estela, but it was empty when you were here, and then we all went to La Huerta, and... well.” She wrapped her arms tightly around Taylor. “I... wanted to have something nice for my family to stay in.”

Returning the embrace, Taylor squeezed Grace in return. “Thank you,” she whispered. She pulled away just in time to see Grace blinking back tears. “What’s wrong? Were you that worried we wouldn’t like it?”

“Well....”

“Grace.” Estela put her hands on Grace’s shoulders. “What is it?”

“It’s just....” Grace sat down on the bench at the foot of the bed. Estela sat beside her and, after a moment, Taylor joined them. It took a few moments before Grace spoke. “Mansingh Global has its world headquarters here in London. My mother keeps a townhouse and a penthouse here, and another place in Edinburgh. I know that she has to travel a lot but she’s only been here once since we bought the house. I kept asking her to come over, but she was always too busy. And she’s only seen Reggie three times. She even missed his birthday last month. She called me a few days later and asked me if we had anything planned – she’d completely forgotten that it had already passed.”

Estela let out a long breath. “Oh, _chiquilla_.”

Staring at Grace, Taylor shook her head. “But... _why_?”

Grace looked at her and shrugged. “Who knows? She missed most of my birthdays too. She remembered my ninth birthday on the right day. I got a card, at any rate.” She shrugged again. “My dad made up for it the best he could – they’d already decided that I’d spend all my holidays with him, since Mom doesn’t see the point of them anyway.” Sighing, she stood up and started wandering the room. “In a way, I think it would have been easier if she’d been mean or angry about it. But she was just indifferent. It didn’t matter to her.” Sinking into one of the chairs, she looked at Estela and Taylor. “She called me last week, you know. She organized a Mansingh conference in Cape Town – she expected all of her executives to meet down there for ten days of seminars and meetings. She didn’t think about how it would interfere with anyone’s holiday plans, and she was shocked that some of them aren’t going. Since she had more free time than she expected, she thought it would be a good idea for me to join her down there. She said it would be an excellent time for just the two of us to have a bonding experience.”

“Just the two of you. On Christmas,” Estela said flatly.

“On Christmas. I told her that I was expecting company, for one thing, but even if you all weren’t coming, I wasn’t about to leave my husband and child on Christmas. Do you know what she had to say about that?” Grace shook her head in remembered disbelief. “She said Aleister was too controlling, that he was trying to gaslight me. That he was turning out just like his father, and – this is the best part – that Reggie wouldn’t even notice I was gone. After all, I turned out just fine without spending every holiday with my mother, didn’t I?”

After a long silence, Estela politely asked, “Would you like me to fly down to Cape Town and punch her in the nose for you?”

Taylor raised her hand. “I’ll help.”

Laughing a little, Grace relaxed into the chair. “I appreciate the thought but I don’t think my therapist would approve. At any rate, all I told Aleister is that I had a fight with my mother and that if she should happen to call the house, I’m not speaking to her unless she’s prepared to apologize.” She smiled – it was a small smile, but it was genuine. “I’m expecting her to ‘punish’ me by not talking to me for a month or two, and then she’ll call and want to pretend everything is fine. Do you remember when I told you that Reggie just said his second word? Well, his first word was ‘car,’ which didn’t surprise anyone. But his second word? It was ‘Granny.’ That’s what IRIS calls herself when she talks to him, you know,” she told Taylor. “He adores her – it doesn’t seem to bother him one bit that he can’t touch her – and he wouldn’t know my mother if he saw her. But you know what?” Grace stood and her smile widened. “As unusual as our family is, I wouldn’t trade it for anything. I’ll let you two wash up now – don’t forget to head down to the kitchen, though. Since we’re not sure when to expect the others, Raj has been preparing what he calls ‘the buffet of the gods.’ He actually had four slow cookers delivered this morning. And he’s got his heart set on heading out early tomorrow to find a goose he can roast for Christmas. He says he wants to get his Dickens on,” she said over her shoulder as she left the room.

When they were alone, Taylor leaned back against the bed. “I know you suggested Paris, but a punch-in-the-nose trip to Cape Town sounds really good right now.”

“It does, doesn’t it?” Estela got up to look out the window. “Oh, this is nice. I can see the city over the trees, but not as much as I expected. Anyway, I think Grace has finally stopped letting her mother’s behavior affect her the way it used to. It still hurts, of course, but I think she’s realized that she can’t control the way Blaire Hall is.”

“I hope so.” Taylor hesitated, then asked, “Is Mike okay? He seemed a little unsure about staying here. I guess I understand why, but I kind of got the impression that there’s something else going on.”

“Well….” Estela came back to rejoin Taylor on the bench. “I’m sorry, _mi vida._ I keep forgetting that you’re still catching up. Anyway, going back five years ago… with everything else going on at the time, I don’t think any of us realized at first that Jake and Mike had been involved, practically since they met at Annapolis. And according to Mike, they were together over on his side of reality as well. So now it’s a little… strange for both of them because _this_ Jake and _this_ Mike only met a few months ago. And then when you consider Jake’s relationship with Quinn – they’re committed but not exclusive, if that makes sense?” Taylor thought it over, then nodded. “Right. I talked to Quinn last week, and she’s worried about things being awkward too. I hope the three of them are able to relax around each other, at least for a few days.”

“Oh, I hope so. Do you think it would help if – sorry.” Taylor laughed as her stomach rumbled. “I was too nervous to eat on the plane.”

“And it was a long flight.” Estela leaned over to kiss the tip of Taylor nose. “All right, let’s get cleaned up and then head downstairs. I want to find out about this godlike buffet Raj is planning.”

Several hours later, with the exception of Reggie, they were all still gathered in the kitchen. With a long-suffering sigh, Aleister replied to yet another text from Craig. “He is actually providing us with a tally of all of the McDonald’s they pass along the way. And Zahra says that we had better leave food for her because, in her words, even first-class meals taste like slop. I hope they have a patient cabdriver. At any rate, they should be here in a few minutes. They say they won’t need our help unloading the taxi.”

“All right, it’s go time!” Getting to his feet, Raj began making huge windmilling shooing motions, urging everyone out of the kitchen. “I left the box by the front door and I want us to be ready when the others get here.”

“Box? What box?” Taylor looked up at Raj.

He grinned back. “You’ll see.”

Once they were all in the foyer, Raj opened a large cardboard box and began handing out its contents. “I knew I had a couple little ones... ah. We’ll save this one for Reggie – we’ve got to do this for Sean and Michelle tomorrow too. C’mere, Buddy. Be a good girl and sit... theeeere you go.”

Jake laughed. “Well, if the dog can do it, so can I. Here’s one for you, Mike.”

Perplexed, Varyyn looked at the object in his hands. He looked at Diego in confusion. “You did not tell me that this holiday requires... ceremonial head coverings?”

“It usually doesn’t, but let’s wear them and make Raj happy.”

Taylor put on her Santa hat and turned to Estela. “How do I look?”

“Stunning.” With an air of resignation, Estela put on hers as well. “The things I do for my family.”

Aleister looked over from the gate control panel by the door. “I quite agree.” He pressed a button before donning his hat. “I won’t promise to keep it on for the entire evening, however.”

Slipping an arm around his waist, Grace gave her husband a squeeze. “No Scrooging, you promised.” She pulled the curtain aside. “The cab just pulled up!”

“All right, everyone, quiet!” Raj tiptoed over to the door and stood ready to pull it open.

They all stood in silence; a minute later, someone pounded on the door. “Open up, idiots. You’re really gonna make us stand out here in the dark?” Raj put a finger to his lips. “Look, I just flew across a damn ocean and if you think I’m gonna –” The doorknob rattled and, without warning, Raj yanked the door open. Zahra stumbled across the threshold and glared up at him. “Jerk.”

“Love you too, Z!” Raj pulled her into a hug and clapped one of the red hats on her head. “Nope. It’s gotta stay on.”

Estela pointed dramatically at her head. “If I can wear it, _you_ can wear it.”

“Fine.” Dropping her bag by the door, Zahra came further into the house. “Let’s get the hugs over with so I can eat something.”

Craig stuck his head inside. “We get Santa hats? Sweet!” He wrestled a huge cylindrical bundle through the door; it was five feet long and wrapped in Christmas paper covered in penguins. “This is for Reggie. Hope he doesn’t have one already.”

Grace stepped forward to hug him. “Whatever it is, I’m pretty sure he doesn’t.”

Bringing up the rear, Quinn accepted her hat with a pleased smile. “They made us unwrap it to get it on the plane but I managed to do it without tearing the paper. One of the agents wanted to know where Zahra found it so she can get one for her niece.”

Zahra shrugged. “You told me the kid likes cars and buses and crap like that, so it’s a rug with streets and buildings. If he gets bored with it, the other side’s got a farm with all kinds of... I don’t know, cows, sheep, assorted country vermin. I’m a city girl, don’t ask me what lives on farms.” She rolled her eyes when Aleister put his arms around her, but she returned the hug.

Quinn wove through the crowd to join Taylor and Estela. “I just got a message from Michelle – she and Sean switched their flight and they’re catching a red-eye, so they’ll be here a few hours earlier than they thought. By sunrise tomorrow, the family will be together again.”

“I can’t wait,” Taylor said as she squeezed Quinn back. “I can’t _wait_!”


	2. Chapter 2

“I can’t believe you guys dragged me out of bed for this,” Zahra grumbled into her coffee. She was still in her pajamas and her Santa hat was askew.

“They did it for us, Z, so we’re gonna do it for Sean and Michelle.” Craig wrapped his arm around her shoulders. “C’mon, where’s your Christmas spirit?”

“Back in Boston. It didn’t clear security.” But one side of Zahra’s mouth tugged upwards.

Raj waved a hand to silence them, but he kept his eyes on the security panel’s viewscreen. “Shhh. The cab is pulling away, they’re walking up the steps, Michelle’s got her phone out… huh?” Raj looked down at his pocket and, after a moment, he took out his ringing phone. “Uh, hi, Meech.” He listened for a moment, then looked over at Quinn. “They can see you peeking around the curtains and they wants to know what we have planned.” He shut off his phone and opened the door to let Michelle and Sean inside. “Just spreading some holiday cheer, my suspicious friends. Have a hat!”

Laughing, Michelle carefully put the red hat on top of her immaculately braided hair. “Grace, Aleister, this place is amazing!” She looked around the foyer appraisingly. “You’re right, this is way too much beige. Have you thought of a sort of olive green for these walls? It would make the mahogany really stand out. And then maybe a lighter shade up there on the landing to tie it together….”

“She has a folder full of paint samples in her luggage.” Sean looked over from hugging Craig. After he carefully straightened Zahra’s hat, he bent over to greet Reggie, sitting on the floor next to Buddy. “Hey there, little guy. Are you ready for Santa?” He glanced up at Aleister. “Or are you guys doing Father Christmas?”

Smiling, Aleister put an arm around Grace’s waist. “We haven’t decided. We think we’ll let Reggie make that call next year when he’s a little more verbal.”

“Okay!” Raj clapped his hands. “I hate to step out on my doodlejumps but time is running short and I’ve got to go see a man about a goose. Mike, you look like a man with opinions on waterfowl. Do you want to go with me?”

Mike grinned at him. “Sure, but only because I’m dying to figure out what the hell you think a man with goose opinions looks like.”

Michelle walked over to hug Taylor. “Oh, it’s been so long since I saw you!”

“It’s been two months,” Taylor told her as she squeezed Michelle back. “And we had a video call just last week.”

“Those don’t count,” Michelle said firmly. She took a few colorful packages out of her luggage. With a slightly guilty smile at Grace, she said, “I know you said no presents, but Sean and I decided that didn’t apply to Reggie.”

“You and everyone else,” Grace laughed. Bending down, she picked up Reggie. “You’re really going to clean up tomorrow, pumpkin. And speaking of cleaning up... since I shirked my responsibilities most of yesterday, I’ll get this diaper. Do you want to show Michelle the tree, honey?”

Aleister stepped forward. “Of course. I don’t think you saw it yesterday, Taylor, did you?”

She shook her head. “I was pretty busy eating everything in sight, to be honest.”

“Understandable. Well, it’s over here in what we can’t bring ourselves to call the morning room. Even I think that sounds unbearably stuffy,” he said to Michelle and Taylor as he led the way across the foyer and opened a set of double doors. It was full of low, comfortable furniture, and there was a tree in one corner of the room. “After a close call last week, we anchored the tree to the wall and moved all the ornaments up a few feet. I doubt it’ll win any decorating awards, but we thought it was safer to remove as much temptation as possible.” He stood back and examined the tree with a rueful smile. “You know, this is positively puny compared to the trees my father had every year… but I wasn’t allowed to go near any of them. They were entirely for show, just like everything else in his life.” Taylor considered the Christmas tree and for a moment, it was overlaid with dozens, hundreds, of other trees from other holidays, other families. And presents piled underneath, so many over the years.... She shook her head a little when Aleister pointed at the gifts that were already beneath the tree. “You can add your packages to the pile of loot Reggie already has.”

As she knelt next to the tree, Michelle looked up at the other two. “I only skimmed the message IRIS sent out last night – is there finally an agreement on Malatesta’s treasure?”

“Between the museum here in London and the pirate museum in Florida, you mean?” Aleister nodded. “They’ve almost finalized a deal. It seems that both organizations realized that a prolonged court battle wouldn’t further the interests of either of them, so they’re working out a settlement. They’re going to hire an impartial third party to have all of the artifacts appraised, and then they’ll divide them evenly. They hope to begin the process sometime this spring.”

Taylor frowned. “Raj told me that one of the biggest disagreements was who gets the emerald – I mean the La Huerta crystal... well, whatever they might have thought it was, it’s a fake now. Isn’t it risky for anyone to examine that?”

“Given that any minimally competent gemologist would know immediately that it’s a synthetic copy, I don’t think ‘risky’ quite covers it. We discussed it last night and my mother is prepared to lay the groundwork so the appraisers will discover that one of the members of the dive team that brought it up was a jewel thief in her misspent youth. But, as my wife told me yesterday, we’re going to classify the issue as a tomorrow problem or, more precisely, an after New Year’s Day problem.”

“I suppose that’s –” Michelle winced at a loud thump and the sound of running feet. “Oh, what now?”

They all turned around as a door was yanked open. Sticking his head inside, Craig grinned at them. “Al, you and Grace are having more kids, right?”

Aleister raised his eyebrows. “Perhaps. We hadn’t planned on doing it this week, though. Why do you ask?”

“Because this place is _made_ for playing tag. Oh, and this room back here?” Craig jerked a thumb over his shoulder. “Home theater, bro. It needs to be a home theater. Get a huge TV on the wall, a bunch of recliners, it’s got a bar in the corner already – right, Diego? I bet you agree with me.”

“Well, yeah.” Diego came up behind Craig. “It’s not as if the movie critic would say it’s a bad idea. Oh, and Craig?”

“Yeah?”

Reaching up, Diego smacked the back of his head. “You’re it.” Ducking around him, Diego ran out of the room.

“Wha... hey!” Craig took off at high speed. “No fair! I was distracted!”

From the foyer, Taylor heard Diego call, “Hey, Varyyn! Give me a hand getting up there.”

Craig skidded to a sudden halt and looked up. “Whoa.” Glancing back into the room, he said, “In case you were wondering, Al, the railing on your stairs is _really_ strong.” He took off again, shouting, “You guys are teaming up? Nobody said we could have teams! Okay, Jake, that means you’re on _my_ team. Hey! Get back here!”

With a sigh, Aleister looked at Taylor and Michelle. “We worked so hard to baby-proof the house. It never occurred to me that we’d have to Craig-proof it as well.”

The rest of the day passed in a blur for Taylor. There was a constant stream of Christmas movies blending with holiday music from different rooms. Quinn set up a cookie assembly line in the breakfast room – Sean handled the frosting and Zahra pretended to grumble when Quinn put her in charge of sprinkles – while Raj prepped for the next day’s feast in the kitchen. She took a long walk with Grace and Estela, all of them taking turns pushing Reggie’s stroller through the neighborhood. Finally, the day wound down to evening and, after a long comfortable gathering next to the Christmas tree, they all split up for the night.

Once she was lying in bed next to Estela, though, Taylor found herself unable to sleep. She looked at her slumbering wife and smiled; normally a light sleeper, Estela was dead to the world. It filled Taylor with contentment to realize that her wife was in a place where she felt totally safe. Sliding out of their bed, Taylor walked quietly to the door. As she eased it closed behind her, Taylor looked to her right. She could see light coming from Aleister and Grace’s bedroom, and she heard soft voices and rustling paper; they were probably still wrapping gifts for Reggie. And somewhere nearby, a woman was singing. She knew that voice.... Taylor hesitated on the threshold of Reggie’s bedroom, her hand on the door. Uncertainly, she nudged it open a few more inches and peeked inside.

IRIS stood next to Reggie’s crib, her translucent hands hovering just above the railing. Her singing faded away as she saw Taylor in the doorway. “It’s all right if you’d like to come in for a moment – he’s sound asleep,” the AI said in a low voice. “He’s worn out from all the activity today. Tomorrow will be even more exciting for him, of course. At the risk of sounding sentimental, it’s his first real Christmas and a child’s first holiday season is so important to his family. He was so tiny last year, and he had no idea what was going on around him….”

Edging into the room, Taylor sat down in one of the rocking chairs and looked around. IRIS’s blue light tinted the yellow walls nearest the crib a light leafy green. Like the two rocking chairs, all of the furniture was some sort of pale wood. The chair cushions and curtains had a cheerful pattern of white ducks on a blue dotted background, and there were a few toys scattered around the thick rug on the floor. “I like this,” she murmured.

“Mmm.” IRIS nodded, but kept her eyes on the sleeping child. “It’s a happy room. Aleister said that Zahra suggested the wall color, and then Quinn sent a link to the fabric. A friend of Grace’s sewed the curtains and the pillows – it’s worked out quite well. Reggie seems very happy with it, and that’s the most important thing.” Her voice dropped a bit. “I... remember Aleister at this age. He was a happy baby too, believe it or not. He loved it when I sang to him.”

“Do you have really memories of his childhood? Or of anything else?” Taylor asked hesitantly.

For long moments, IRIS didn’t answer. Then, slowly, she turned and floated toward her. Taylor could see a tiny flashing blue light where a human’s heart would be. The light brightened for a second and the AI disappeared; Taylor blinked and by the time her eyes opened again, IRIS had reappeared sitting in the chair next to hers. The overhead light, already low, dimmed along with IRIS’s blue glow to a soft haze. “I wasn’t supposed to,” she said. “My initial programming was entirely utilitarian. I had access to a few files that I suppose you could call memories. That’s how I was able to sing to Aleister to convince him of who I was. I think I was already beginning to have glimmers of self-awareness at that point – at any rate, I recall making attempts to override my programming and act on my own. But from my first version, Everett was constantly dissatisfied with my performance so he altered my code. And then he made further adjustments. There were dozens of IRISes over the years, each one subtly different than its predecessor. There were a few that were designed to be… well, more than a little lethal. And like the others, even when they were deactivated, their code remained. And then....” she sighed. “Everett’s plans were destroyed and, it seemed, I was as well. But Aleister found a handful of my drones and he started to look for my old files. I’ve never asked him what made him start the search. In my... position, it would be so easy to intrude on his privacy. I’ve made a point of establishing boundaries with my son and his wife, both for their sake and my own. At any rate, he located nearly all the files containing my operating codes and he started to reconstitute my AI. And in the process, something happened.”

Taylor looked at her curiously. “What was that?”

IRIS looked over at the crib. “I was six years old when my parents gave me my first diary.” She laughed a little. “I could barely write more than my name so the first few months were primarily repetitions of Imogen Beatrice Winfield, scrawled over and over. Sometimes I drew pictures as well – flowers and animals, and stick figures of myself and my parents. As my penmanship improved, I wrote about my days in grammar school, and my friends and all the joys and heartaches a little girl always has. I received a new diary the following Christmas, and so the chain continued. By the time I was in university, I was buying my own journals, of course, but my parents kept the older ones in a box – I found it after the car accident that killed them. I was already engaged to Everett then.” Her eyes grew cold. “I inherited a comfortable little fortune that he was quite interested in. The cause of the accident was never entirely explained, you know.”

“You don’t think –?”

Shrugging, IRIS glanced at Taylor. “That Everett somehow engineered the accident? I’ve accessed the police files and they were inconclusive. I suppose there’s no way to be sure at this point. It’s worth pointing out, though, that his own parents died in unexplained accidents as well. Perhaps he simply had an unlucky family. I, of course, died in a tragic fall when Aleister was a very small boy. I stumbled and hit my head on the corner of a table.”

Taylor stared at the ceiling. “Rourke.”

IRIS nodded. “Ultimately, he was responsible, but my death was, as unbelievable as it seems, accidental. I think he might have murdered me eventually, but I don’t think he intended to kill me that night. It’s true that we were arguing at the time. No, ‘arguing’ is a feeble word for what we were doing. I’d just discovered that... Well. I suppose I need to explain how it all began. I don’t believe that all women have a responsibility to bear children, of course, or that there’s anything wrong with not wanting to be a mother – I know that Zahra has no interest in it and I think she’s a dear, although I hope you won’t repeat that to her. But for as long as I can remember, I yearned to be a mother. I used to dream about having a houseful of children. I had difficulty in conceiving, though, so after we’d been married a few years, Everett talked me into trying IVF. We were successful on our first attempt. I knew how rare that was, of course, but I never questioned my luck. I thought it was the happiest time of my life, but then my baby was born and I realized that if I could have somehow combined every joyful moment of my life before that day, their sum would pale compared to what I felt when I first held Aleister in my arms.” She was silent for a few heartbeats. “That last day, I had discovered that Everett used my own research into cloning against me. He scrubbed every trace of my DNA from the eggs we used and that my child, my darling sunny Aleister, was in fact the genetic duplicate of my husband. I confronted him that night. I told him I was going to take my son and leave, that I’d never allow Aleister to be an experiment for him. I slapped him, and it felt wonderful. He grabbed me and swung me around; I fell; and I died.”

“And – and you remember that?” Taylor stammered.

Again, IRIS was silent. When she finally spoke, her voice was cold. “I knew about the security cameras in his office, but I had no idea that Everett installed cameras in nearly every room of our house. He recorded everything, and he saved everything. Our daily lives, his business meetings – many of which had unethical and even criminal elements, and I curse myself for allowing myself to remain blind to them – even the women he brought into our home when I was away. I don’t remember my death, but I saw the recording of it, along with all the other minutiae of my life. Besides those recordings, for reasons that I can’t begin to understand, Everett digitized all my diaries and journals after my death. Well. I’m in danger of rambling, so the short version is that when Aleister began to reconstitute my AI, he found the files with my journals. Apparently, he only accessed the first few years, and those he only skimmed. Perhaps he was respecting my privacy as well? At any rate, he included those files in my code at the same time he removed the constraints Everett had placed on me. And between the memories contained in my journals, and the recordings with my vocal and physical mannerisms, all somehow combining with all the dozens of versions of IRIS created over the years – I was, without warning, awake and self-aware.”

Taylor closed her eyes. “I... think I can understand what that felt like. I was reborn nearly three thousand times. In the beginning, I was just Vaanu’s hazy notion of what a human was, based on what they pulled from all the Catalysts. I can barely remember those first few cycles because there really wasn’t a ‘me’ yet. And... my friends all died before I even understood what it meant to be alive. But bit by bit, Vaanu learned more about my friends, and each new Taylor was a little more human. I was made up of different parts of the others every time I was reborn, and each time I lost one of my friends, it tore me apart a little bit more. By the time this last cycle came around, I’d absorbed so much from them that even though I don’t consciously remember the times I was reborn before, it’s all swirling around inside me.” Opening her eyes, Taylor looked over at IRIS; she was nodding slowly in recognition. “That’s not so different from how you got to be who you are now, is it?”

“Layer upon layer piled together, until some unknown alchemy sparked those layers into life? It’s a fascinating notion to explore. People talk about repressed memories sometimes, but I don’t believe it’s ever possible to completely suppress a memory. I think we’re always aware of them on some primal level, and they inform our actions in ways we’re not consciously aware of.” IRIS smiled, almost to herself. “Do you ever feel like a bit of an archaeologist as you dig down, trying to discover the truth about yourself?”

“Yes! That’s it exactly!” Taylor exclaimed. “I –” She covered her mouth as Reggie stirred and babbled something in his sleep.

With a smile, IRIS stood up and floated over to the baby. She looked down at him and then, nodding to the door, she led the way outside. Once she and Taylor were on the other side of the door, she said quietly, “He’s still asleep, but I suppose we shouldn’t press our luck. I never asked why you were up and about this late.”

“I couldn’t sleep and I didn’t want to wake Estela, so I was going to go down to the kitchen. Maybe it’s jetlag? Anyway, I kept thinking about warm milk, so I hoped that might do the trick.”

“Would you mind if I keep you company?” IRIS asked. “I don’t precisely sleep these days, but I usually try to spend a few hours now and then in a dormant state. I couldn’t quite settle down, though, and that’s why I was checking on Reggie.” She sighed. “I missed so much of Aleister’s childhood. I know I can never get those years back but when I look at Reggie... well, I intend to treasure every moment I have with him.”

As she headed to the stairs leading down to the kitchen, Taylor looked at IRIS. “You don’t have to answer if this is too personal, but I know that you can change the way you look. Have you kept the same face because that’s the one Aleister remembers?”

IRIS’s smile widened. “You’re very astute, dear. I’ve toyed with the idea of changing my face a bit. I’ve looked at photographs of my mother and her relatives, and I have a fairly good notion of how I’d look if I hadn’t died.” Her face smoothly transformed; delicate webs of fine wrinkles appeared at the corners of her eyes, and her cheeks softened and drooped just a little. Her hair thinned a bit and took on a few streaks of gray. Then, just as easily, the years melted away again. “But I did die. And now that my son has a chance to see my face again, I suppose I want it to be one that he recognizes.” She hesitated on the landing. “And speaking of Aleister... I’d like to ask you a favor.”

Taylor gave IRIS an appraising look; wherever the AI might fall on the human-machine spectrum, it seemed obvious that she was deeply troubled by something. And it wasn’t as if Taylor couldn’t relate to being not quite human.... “I’ll do whatever I can.”

“Thank you, Taylor.” Slowly, IRIS continued down the steps. “But rather than doing anything, this is more a case of asking you to keep something from him. After I watched the recording of my death, and after I revealed to Everett that I knew the truth – I’ll tell you about that some other time – I destroyed it. I know that I said files, like human memories, can never be fully erased but I shredded it hundreds of times, and then dispersed the fragments so thoroughly that it would take years of searching to find enough to even begin reassembling the footage. I... have seen recordings of Aleister’s youth, his adolescence. I know what his childhood was like – raised by servants and nannies, all dismissed after a few months to prevent him from forming any sort of attachment to them. I’ve seen how angry he was, how bitter. And these past five years, I’ve seen how he’s worked to overcome the lessons his father taught him, and how tender he is with his own son. I destroyed all of those recordings as well. I’d rather not provide him with any reason to relive any part of his childhood, not with the pain it would bring up again. Please, don’t let him know how I died.”

Taylor stopped at the foot of the stairs. After a few moments, she asked, “Do you think he suspects that Rourke was responsible for your death?”

“Possibly. He’s never discussed the subject with me, but he’s quite intelligent. I’m sure it’s occurred to him, knowing Everett as he does.”

“But... even if he suspects, I’m not sure if it would do him any good to confirm it for him. I mean, it’s not like he has any illusions about what his father is.” Taking a deep breath, Taylor looked at IRIS with a small smile. “I’ve got to keep so many secrets already. I don’t see how one more will make any difference.”

“I suppose ‘thank you’ is inadequate,” IRIS said as she followed Taylor into the kitchen. “But it’s comforting to know that after so many years alone, my son is finally surrounded by people who’ll take care of him.” She floated over to one of the cabinets. “You’ll find the cups in here, and spoons in the drawer directly underneath. And here’s some honey. My mother used to add that to my warm milk when I couldn’t sleep. Perhaps you’d like to try it?”

“Why not?” Taylor froze at a flash of memory: a hand squeezing a plastic bear over a cup of milk while Diana Ross sang on the radio. She sighed as the vision disappeared, and she reached for a jar of honey on the counter. “You know, just once I’d like to do something for the first time. I’ve got so many random memories inside my head that aren’t connected to anything. It’s nice to know that I can... oh, drive a car, but I’d like to actually _learn_ to do something.”

“I can understand that. It’s quite satisfying to master a skill. I remember when I taught myself to knit – I started in university, primarily as a distraction from my studies and... other things.” She smiled fondly at the memory. “My early attempts were disastrous but then one evening, so suddenly that it almost frightened me, everything clicked. Everett destroyed most of my mementos, but I finally found a picture of Aleister wearing a precious little jumper that I made him. It was green, with a fluffy white sheep on its front. I remember that I made one for myself with the same wool – without the sheep, unfortunately. I should have given into my impulses more often. There’s nothing wrong with a little whimsy now and then. At any rate, it had a lovely cabled pattern. I’m not sure why I had such problems learning to knit cables so once I figured it out, I almost felt like I’d won a battle against myself.”

“Knitting?” Taylor slowly turned around from the microwave as it counted down the seconds. “I don’t think I know how to do that. I know what it looks like, but none of my friends ever learned how to knit.”

IRIS stared at her and her smile widened. She held up her hands and said, “I can’t physically teach you to do it, of course, but I’d be happy to guide you through the process.”

“Knitting?” Taylor’s smile matched IRIS’s. “Why not? I think I’d like that.”

Both of them looked up as a clock in the foyer chimed twelve times. “And it’s Christmas,” IRIS said softly. “Drink your milk while it’s warm, dear, and then you should go back to bed. It’s going to be a busy day tomorrow and you’ll need your rest.”

* * *

Taylor sighed and snuggled deeper beneath the soft green duvet. Still half-asleep, she murmured, “I love this thing. I’d like to sneak it into our luggage and take it back with us, but it’d be way too hot on La Huerta.”

Chuckling, Estela kept on combing her fingers through Taylor’s hair. “I’ll talk to Grace. She could probably design one with a self-contained cooling unit.”

“Good idea. Maybe she’ll have it on the market by next year.” Opening her eyes, she looked up at Estela. “Merry Christmas.”

“Merry Christmas, _querida_.”

After a glance at the clock, Taylor rested her head on Estela’s shoulder. “It’s still early. I’m a little hungry, though... I suppose we could always tiptoe downstairs and rummage around in the kitchen. I know for a fact that we have plenty of cookies down there.”

Estela laughed. “Cookies for breakfast? How decadent. I’m in, but the kitchen is probably already occupied. You heard Raj talking about the menu yesterday – I’m sure he’s already down there roasting his goose or something. And even if he isn’t, Quinn is probably baking something.”

“Do you think they want some help?”

“Maybe in a while.” Estela pressed a kiss to Taylor’s forehead. “So... New Year’s Eve in Paris?”

“Paris. It can be our Christmas present to each other.”

Pulling back a little, Estela looked at Taylor with a hint of concern in her eyes. “What’s wrong?”

“It’s nothing, really. It’s just....” Taylor sighed. “After everything we went through to be together, this is going to sound really stupid. I didn’t even think about it before yesterday, but I guess I’m sorry I didn’t get you a Christmas present. Then I realized that I couldn’t get you anything because I don’t actually have money. It’s not like we need it on La Huerta, but still. Unless I want to sell my story to the tabloids – not that anyone would believe me! – I don’t even know how I’d make any money in the first place. My employment prospects aren’t exactly rosy,” she said with a shrug.

“Actually....” Estela hesitated, then continued. “That’s something Aleister and I have been talking about. Remember that we told you about the settlements Rourke International made to all the guests of the Celestial? Well, we... sort of realized that we could treat you like one of them. Aleister took the average settlement payment, and then figured out how much it would be worth today if it had been invested for the past five years. If you’re all right with the idea, we were going to ask Zahra and IRIS to set up some accounts for you – a checking account, a few credit cards, that sort of thing. Right after you... came back, Zahra offered to rig the lottery for you but we made her promise to hold off on that.”

“Can she even do that?” ( _Piece of cake. Sneak into the system, figure out what stores get most of the winning scratchers and how the distribution ratio works, figure the time to buy tickets just right and set up a thousand buck win. Lather, rinse, repeat– just get enough for that classic Fender guitar and a kickass amp from Earl’s store, but not enough to alert the media or banking authorities. Stop before anyone gets wise_ ) “I guess if anyone could, it’s her,” Taylor answered her own question. “Are you and Aleister both all right with that? I mean, technically I suppose I’m a survivor of the Celestial, but it’s not really the same.”

“Taylor, my brother has spent the past few years doing his best to get rid of our father’s money. He and Grace want to do as much good with it as possible. They’re primarily living on what Aleister would have inherited from his mother and the trust fund Grace’s mother set up for her – which Blaire tried and failed to revoke when Grace said she wasn’t joining Mansingh, but that’s another story for another day – along with her patents. Any money we make from RI is coming from the reorganized company so none of it is tainted.”

Taylor looked up at the ceiling. “I don’t know… how much money are we talking about?”

“You’re not going to be a millionaire, I’m afraid.” Taylor could hear the smile in Estela’s voice. “The base settlement was two hundred and fifty thousand dollars – people who needed medical care received more, of course. And since we used Raj’s advice on what the best investment strategy would have been, you’d receive a bit more than that.”

“So I’d be a quarter-of-a-millionaire?”

“More like a third-of-a-millionaire, or something around there.”

Taylor thought about it, then nodded slowly. “You know, I think I’d like that. It’d be nice to… oh, I don’t know, buy shoes for myself. Or pick out a present for my beautiful wife.”

“Your wife already has the best present she could have ever hoped for,” Estela whispered.

“Oh, really?” Smiling, Taylor returned her embrace. “Why don’t we discuss that while we wait for a decent time to get breakfast?”

“And then cookies? You have _such_ good ideas.”


End file.
